PRINTER'S NO. 1311
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
1006
Session of
2022
INTRODUCED BY HUGHES, MUTH, KANE, FONTANA, SAVAL, SCHWANK,
STREET, COSTA, BREWSTER, KEARNEY AND CAPPELLETTI,
JANUARY 11, 2022
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, JANUARY 11, 2022
AN ACT
Amending Title 61 (Prisons and Parole) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, providing for solitary confinement.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 61 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a chapter to read:
CHAPTER 51
SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
Sec.
5101. Definitions.
5102. Data collection and reporting requirements.
ยง 5101. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Department." The Department of Corrections of the
Commonwealth.
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"Inmate." An adult person committed to a term of
imprisonment or otherwise confined in a State correctional
institution.
"Member of a vulnerable population." Any of the following:
(1) An inmate who is 21 years of age or younger.
(2) An inmate who is 70 years of age or older.
(3) An inmate who is pregnant or in the postpartum
period.
(4) An inmate who has recently suffered a miscarriage or
terminated a pregnancy.
(5) An inmate who is perceived to be lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender or intersex.
"Personally identifiable information." Any representation of
information that permits the identity of an individual to whom
the information applies to be reasonably inferred by either
direct or indirect means, including, but not limited to, the
individual's:
(1) name;
(2) address;
(3) Social Security number or other identifying number
or code;
(4) telephone number; or
(5) email address.
"Postpartum period." The period following delivery before an
inmate or a detainee has been discharged from a medical
facility.
"Solitary confinement." The confinement of an inmate in a
State correctional institution due to disciplinary,
administrative, protective, investigative, medical or other
classification, in a cell or similarly confined holding or
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living space, alone or with other inmates for approximately 20
hours or more per day, with severely restricted activity,
movement and social interaction.
"State correctional institution." A correctional institution
or facility housing incarcerated individuals owned or operated
by the Commonwealth.
ยง 5102. Data collection and reporting requirements.
(a) Data collection.--The department shall collect the
following information as required for reporting under subsection
(b):
(1) The average annual State prison population.
(2) The number of inmates housed within solitary
confinement and the number of inmates released from solitary
confinement.
(3) For each inmate housed within solitary confinement,
the age, sex, race, ethnicity, mental health code, medical
class code, security level and custody level classification
of the inmate and whether the inmate is a member of a
vulnerable population.
(4) For each inmate released from solitary confinement,
any change to the inmate's mental health code, medical class
code, security level or custody level classification.
(5) The reason or reasons for which each inmate was
placed into solitary confinement.
(6) The number of days each inmate was housed within
solitary confinement per confinement.
(7) The number of incidents of self-harm, offenses
toward others, suicide attempts and suicides for inmates
housed within solitary confinement.
(8) The number of incidents of self-harm, offenses
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toward others, suicide attempts and suicides for inmates
released from solitary confinement.
(9) The current three-year recidivism rate for all
inmates released from the State prison system and the three-
year recidivism rate for inmates released from the State
prison system who were housed in solitary confinement at any
time in the two years preceding their release.
(10) The number of staff persons, including a breakdown
by job classification, dedicated to inmates housed within
solitary confinement during the previous calendar year.
(b) Annual report.--The following shall apply:
(1) On August 1 of the year that begins immediately
following the effective date of this subsection, and each
August 1 thereafter, the department shall report to the
Governor, the chair and minority chair of the Judiciary
Committee of the Senate and the chair and minority chair of
the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives in
the aggregate the data collected under subsection (a) for the
previous calendar year.
(2) The report shall also include a description of any
changes made during the previous calendar year to written
policies or procedures of the department relating to the use
and conditions of solitary confinement.
(3) The department shall ensure the report does not
contain any personally identifiable information of any inmate
as a result of the required data collection.
(c) Publication requirements.--The following shall apply:
(1) Within 30 days of the effective date of this
section, the department shall:
(i) provide a copy of the department's policies and
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procedures governing the use of solitary confinement to
the Governor, the chair and minority chair of the
Judiciary Committee of the Senate and the chair and
minority chair of the Judiciary Committee of the House of
Representatives; and
(ii) publish the department's policies and
procedures governing the use of solitary confinement on
the department's publicly accessible Internet website.
(2) If the department changes a policy or procedure
governing the use of solitary confinement following
dissemination of policies and procedures under paragraph (1),
the department shall update the policies and procedures
published on the department's publicly accessible Internet
website and provide written notice to recipients listed in
subsection (c)(1)(i). A policy or procedure updated under
this paragraph shall include an annotation with dates to
indicate any changes that have been made.
(3) Within 10 days of submission of the report as
required under subsection (b), the department shall publish
the annual report on the department's publicly accessible
Internet website.
Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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